The Pound Dives into May – But How Will It Do?

After two encouraging weeks for the British pound, the time has come to see whether the trend will continue. What would be in store for us this week?

An overview of the currency markets for May 1st to May 5th, 2017

As the week got started, the British pound opened on 1.2939 against the US dollar. It was a Bank Holiday Monday, of course, so trading did not begin until Tuesday. This saw the pound drop to 1.2914, so while it fell back, it was not by a huge margin. We were back to better news the following day, rising to 1.2931 as the day was completed. After another fall on Thursday, the pound managed to regain its footing and closed the week in much the same position it had started in, on 1.2939.

We had trodden water against the US dollar, but would we do the same against the euro? The answers were still some way away, but we began on Tuesday morning after the one-day holiday on 1.1838. It soon became apparent that we would experience much the same pattern as we had against the dollar. Here, we had a fall followed by a rise, and then the same again to close the final two days of the week. This meant the opening rate of 1.1838 eventually slid marginally to 1.1804, so we were not able to retain our position here.

What of the situation against the Hong Kong dollar, then? Once again, the pattern was identical – it was merely the daily numbers that were altered slightly. Again, the Bank Holiday meant we only had four days to trade over, but we still managed to complete a reasonable performance here. In fact, we managed to improve our standing over the entire week – something we had yet to do. Opening on 10.062, we dropped on Tuesday before recovering the day after. Another fall on Thursday was concerning, but eventually we finished the week in a better position on 10.071.

We never know how things will pan out against the New Zealand and Australian dollars, so let’s see how they progressed this week. We began on 1.8819 against the Kiwi dollar, before dropping back to 1.8672 on day one. We then managed to achieve some rises over the next two days, reaching 1.8787 on Thursday evening. While we did lose some ground on Friday, it didn’t prevent us from crawling back to 1.8782.

Finally, the pound began trading on 1.7317 this week against the Australian dollar. While we dropped to 1.7177 on Tuesday, following the Bank Holiday, the remainder of the week saw nothing but rises. We also made significant progress on each of those days, eventually rising to 1.7509 to close the week in style.

Notable events in the world of currency

Good progress against the Canadian dollar

There was good news here as the pound went from 1.7655 to 1.7818 against the Canadian dollar.

Not such good news against the Swiss franc

Here, though, our luck ran out. From a beginning exchange rate of 1.2821, the pound eventually slid to 1.2795 today.

And another drop against the Icelandic krona, too

Here, we managed to begin on 137.285 and at least minimise the losses, falling to 137.022 by the close of the week.

So, this was not a hugely successful week for the British pound. With that said, though, it could have been worse. We had just four days to work with, and after two weeks of more encouraging news, it was bound to give way to less appealing news eventually.

The losses were largely small ones, too, so perhaps we can easily regain them next week. There is lots to look forward to, and with campaigning for the General Election well underway, there is every chance the pound will bounce back – if not immediately, then once the election has been concluded. We shall be watching to find out what happens and what we can expect. We’ll have all the news right here for you, too.